The many facets of debating

Debating, as an extracurricular activity, requires patience, compassion, and persistence, besides strong research and presentation skills. It is crucial for debaters to be respectful towards their opponents, while presenting logical and constructive criticism. 

For Wasif Amin Khan, a student of IBA, DU, and Debating Excellence Lead of Bangladesh Debating Council (BDC), one of the best ways to prepare for tournaments is to read up on different topics, especially current global affairs.

BDC aims to make English debating more common among students through their different programmes.

Sourodip Paul, former Debate and Development Lead at BDC, and a student of IBA is motivated by debating to analyse different issues critically, and empathise with others. "If a debater is speaking after their teammate, they must listen carefully in order to ensure consistency," he further added.

Shirsha Songshoptak, a student of BUET,  was always fascinated by art, history, economics, and international affairs. However, it was tough for him to find a push to learn more about these topics, especially as they did not directly coincide with his academic path. Debating gave him that push.

Meanwhile, Jumana Tanuja, a student of BUET and Equity Officer at BDC, shared that most of her lab classes and debate tournaments usually clash with one another. Once offline classes resume, it will be tough for her to dedicate enough effort behind debating.

Many debaters face discrimination on the basis of their accents. "Being a woman of colour whose first language is not English is difficult at international tournaments because judges have a bias for clean and polished accents," shared Nayara Noor, a student of BRAC University and Equity and Compliance Lead at BDC.

Acquiring visas for international tournaments is difficult for many debaters, and tickets are quite expensive. Most institutions cannot support their students in these endeavours. However, online tournaments, owing to the pandemic, have made debating more accessible. "Students from across the world are embracing online debates, appearing regularly in prestigious tournaments worldwide, and proving that there is very little correlation between one's debating prowess and background," concluded Shudipto Ahmed, a student of DU, and Vice Chair of BDC.

The author is a freelance journalist. Email: mislammonamee@gmail.com.